The Private
by FNPCapt KC
Summary: Skipper finds a sick orphaned penguin on the streets of New York while on a mission. Not knowing what else to do, he takes him in and raises him to be the solider he is today.
1. Prologue

**And the series continues... Here is a prologue in case some of my readers have not read The Capitan. Enjoy!**

***Skipper's POV* *12 years ago***

Then, I suddenly got a strange feeling in my gut. As if, something was wrong. But what could be wrong? All three of us were satisfied with hot chocolate. Rico didn't seem to be in any pain and Kowalski wasn't blaming himself for once. And I definately was fine. Was an enemy stalking us as we speak? Maybe that was it. I looked around until my eyes landed on an alley up ahead. Something in my mind clicked. That was it! Not wanting the two younger, less-trained penguins to get hurt, I ran towards it, not saying a word.

"Skipper? What's wrong?" Kowalski asked. I ignored him an entered the alley in a fighting stance, assuming the worse.

But instead, I found something more sad and heart-breaking. A young, down feathered penguin, no older than 8 in penguin years, was sitting on the ground, staring at the cold snow that surrounded and covered him. He didn't appear to notice me and he looked awfully sick.

"Kid?" I asked trying to get his attention. By this time, Rico and Kowalski had caught up.

"Kowalski? Analysis,"

"It appears that this penguin chick had been abandoned on the streets and the cold has left him sick and he seems to be half-concious,"

_Poor little guy. Kinda reminds me of myself when my parents died... _I thought.

"Looks like we're going to have take care of this little guy until further notice. Understood?" I stated, making a decesion my gut told me I wasn't going to regret.

"Understood,"

"Uh-huh!" Rico agreed.

I picked up the young penguin and pressed him to my chest, trying to warm his cold and thin body. I took my cup of hot choclate and poured some of it into his beak. That made him a bit more aware of what was going on. He looked at me with the biggest blue eyes I've seen. I smiled at him as he quickly fell asleep in my flippers. I knew right then that he would be okay.

"Come on, men. Let's take this fellow home,"


	2. A Broken Legend

**Here is the first real chapter. A little gory, but if you came here for Private and Skipper, do not worry. They will be in the second chapter. After reading my last story, I decided I needed to have a secondary plot on Nigel and his search for Private. So here it is!**

**And I named this chapter A Broken Legend, due to the fact that the Red Squirrel called Nigel the greatest penguin legend. So, that makes him a legend, I guess? And if you listen to this song, Legends ( /watch?v=gUNK7McA7eg) while reading this a little slowly, the music fits with the story almost perfectly.**

Chapter One: A Broken Legand

Nigel slowly crawled out of the burning building (located in New London, Conneticut), blood pouring out of his wounds and staining his white feathers dark red. The Red Squirrel had been cruel to him. Chaining him down before using a knife to carve a large "R" on Nigel's stomach and an "S" on his flipper, not deep enough to kill him immediately, but enough to the point where he could die from blood loss within an hour. Then, Red released him, but set the building on fire. Red left just seconds after the flame touched the wood. Nigel thankfully found an open window that Red was stupid enough to leave open. The pain slowed him down and his vision was blurring due to smoke that was also filling his lungs. But he had to escape. He couldn't let Red win.

He slowly pulled himself over the window sill, his bad flipper screaming, and pushed himself over the edge. The building was about to collapse at this point. Thankfully, Red's American HQ was a few yards away from the ocean, so he pulled himself over there, knowing that he wouldn't get burned in the water. But the second he hit the water, his wounds stung more than ever, thanks to the high salt content. His lungs ached as well from the fire smoke. He knew he was going to pass out any second, when a small, penguin-sized boat pulled up to the shore anchoring about 15 feet away from him, and immediately Nigel reconized the flag it was flying. The IPM Coast Guard. They probably were there to stop the fire. One of the penguins on board saw Nigel and immediately went to notify his capitan. The last thing he remembered before blacking out were sets of strong flippers lifting him out of the water and laying him down on a soft stretcher.

Nigel awoke for a few minutes days later in a small hospital ward at the IPM Acadamy. He was greeted by the sound of his heart beating slowly on the monitor and his heavy breathing. He couldn't move his right flipper and his belly ached like everything. Then, something hit him: Private. Private could still be out there on the cold streets, possibly dead by now.

I've got to find him...

Nigel thought, growing tired. _He's been through too much for him to suffer any more. He needs me..._

This time when Nigel woke up, he heard voices. _Private?_ he thought hopefully. But when he heard their voices, he knew it wasn't his nephew. Just his doctor and nurse.

"How long is he going to be in here?" The nurse asked.

"At least a few more weeks. Poor lieuntenant had it pretty bad. He recieved 284 stitches total, not to mention internal bleeding and some damage to his lungs due to the smoke from the burning building,"

"W-where's Private?" Nigel softly mumbled. The penguins' heads whipped towards their patient.

"Private?" The doctor asked. "Who's Private?"

"My nephew... He was with me when Red took me,"

"Where was this?"

"I-I can't remember... All I know was that there were lots of tall buildings and it was snowing,"

"Well, we will see what we can do, but for now you need to rest,"

"No. I need to find him! He could be dead as we speak!"

"Nigel, please just-"

"No!" With that said, the nurse drove a needle into his side. Immediately, he was sound asleep on his bed.

"Anestheic?" The doctor asked.

"Yup. Didn't want to have to do so, but like you said, it's vital that he gets enough rest in the awful condition he's in,"

"Uh-huh. He's very lucky to be alive. If Pvt. Jarry had found him just minutes later, he would've been dead a long time ago."

**Thank you very much for reading! And reviewing if you are reviewing! :D**


	3. Questions and a Memory

"Private," Skipper whispered into the sleeping penguin's ear hole. "Private, wake up!"

The young penguin rubbed his eyes and yawned. Skipper knew that he was too young and small to be sleeping in the vacant top bunk. He could easily fall off and he couldn't even climb the ladder yet. So he slept on top of Skipper's belly.

"Yes, Skippah?"

"Let's go have some breakfast before Rico wakes up and eats it all,"

It had been 2 months since they rescued Private off the streets and six weeks since he got out of the zoo's hospital. Rico was also okay now, but the blow he took to his cheek left a large scar. Private wasn't all to sure about Rico. Everything Private liked, Rico almost always disliked. Private did feel sorry about what happene to him though. At least he had a loving family before his parents died. Rico, on the other hand, had pretty much no one. Private couldn't imagine life like that. _This must feel like Heaven compared to what he's used to. _the young penguin thought. To Private, Kowalski was okay. He was nice and played with him when Skipper was busy, but he kept using big, unpronouncable words that confused the 8-year-old deeply. Skipper was definately Private's favorite of the three. He reminded him of his father and Nigel. He did seem a little scary to Private, when he yelled at the other 2 penguins. Sometimes he even slapped them. Private wondered if he would ever get slapped. He hoped not.

Skipper put a few plates on the table and opened up 2 cans of sardines, giving one to Private.

"Skippah?" Private asked, still using the fake accent Nigel told him to use.

"Yes, Private?"

"Why do you slap K'walski and Rico?"

"You see, Private. When someone in a military team makes a bad mistake that could've easily be prevented, it's the leader's job to correct them so they won't screw up when it's a life or death matter,"

"Will I get slapped?"

"Not now. When your older and enlisted in the I.P.M. like us,"

"B-but, aren't I already 'part of your team?"

"Not officaly. When your 17, nine years from now, we'll sign you up,"

"Oh..." Private sighed. Nine years seemed like a long time from now. On the bright side, he wasn't going to get slapped until then? Another thought crossed his mind: Nigel. What if Nigel came back? He wanted to be with his uncle, but he also wanted to be with Skipper. How long had it been since he'd been seperated from his uncle? He needed to know...

"Skippah, what day is it?"

"Febuary the 14th, why?"

"Valentines Day!" Private squealed with excitement.

"Yeah..." Skipper said lost in thought about a memory of this day.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's, um, nothing!"

"Oh, okay!" Private said, oblivious to that Skipper hid something. "Skippah, what is a Valentine?"

"It's someone who you like. Alot,"

"Ohh... Are you my valentine, then?"

"What? No!" Skipper chuckled. "Not _that_ way. A valentine is someone who you want to marry,"

"Did you ever have a valentine?"

"Once. When I was young and still in the military academy,"

"Were you my age?"

"No. I was 18. It was senior year and I had a little crush on one of my closet friends. Prom was just a month away, and well, I asked her in the best way I could. During flight training, I got into the plane she usualy flew and hung a banner on it that asked,'WILL YOU GO TO PROM WITH ME?' I flew that thing all around campus. In return, she flew my plane with a banner that read, 'YES!' and flew right next to me until the planes started to run out of gas. I gave her a bouquet of tiger lillies, her favorite, and a box of dark chocolates. She kissed my cheek and hugged me, whispering 'Happy Valentines Day' into my ear hole,"

"That sounds fun!"

"Yeah! It was..." Skipper sighed happily at the memory, just as the smell of sardines reached Rico's nostrils. "Fish?" He sat up. His eyes flew to the cans of sweet, salty fish on the table. "FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIISH!"

"Oh gosh," Skipper said. He and Private had barely touched their fish.

"FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISH!" Rico jumped on top of the table, grabbing the 2 cans before Skipper could stop him and swallowed the them whole (including the can).

"Awww! But I was hungry!" Private complained.

"Don't worry Private, there's alot more in the closet,"

But then, he looked at Rico, who took all 44 cans of sardines in the closet and chugged them.

"Or not,"

**And that concludes chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed it! And thank you so much for the amazing reviews! I loved them very much! And yes, this is the sequel to The Capitan. I found the song which I belive is going to be the inspiration for the story. It fits perferctly with the plot and I love it! It's called In Wonder by Aviators, who also wrote the song that inspired The Capitan. Here's the youtube link:**

** watch?v=OSKrPdB2HsM**

Enjoy!


	4. A Deal

Private used to love the snow. So soft, and nice, even comforting. Before Red showed up in his life, he would go out with his parents and Nigel and build snowmen and have snowball fights. Private loved those days... But now, he remembered the snow being his worst enemy during those freezing days on the streets. He didn't like it. So when Skipper asked him if he wanted to go outside and do the "Smile and Wave" routine, he refused.

"I don't want to go outside!" he protested.

"Why not? It's just a little snow," Skipper replied.

"That's the problem! I don't like the snow,"

"Private, you're a penguin! You're built to live in snow!"

"I did and I got sent to that building with those strange humans wearing white clothes,"

Realization fell upon Skipper. He forgot about the incident until now.

"I see. I'll just let Rico and Kowalski go outside, then. I'll stay here with you. You see we refuse to let any of our penguin brothers do something alone, as anytime we do let them, something terrible happens. Which is why our creedo is 'Never swim alone" Remember that, Private and forget you ever heard it,"

"Is that possible?"

"Maybe..."

"Skipper, are you ready?" Kowalski asked, waddling out of his lab.

"Um, Private wants to stay inside, as he has a minor fear of the snow, so you guys can go on without me,"

"Okay, sir. Come on, Rico,"

Rico hurriedly finished up his breakfast and climbed the ladder, joining Kowalski. As soon as he closed the hatch. Private sighed.

"So, now what?"

"Well, what do you want to do?" Skipper replied.

"Uh, watch the tellie?"

"Okay, sure. What do you want to watch?"

"I don't know. Let's see what's on,"

Skipper grabbed the remote and sat by the TV, with Private sitting next to him. He flipper through the channels, trying to find something good. On channel in particular caught Private's eye.

"WAIT! Go back!"

Skipper did so, and a show filled with colorful unicorns came into view.

"There, perfect!"

"You-you want to watch _this_? You sure?"

"Yes! When I was with Mum and Dad we would watch this show all the time! I-I still miss them..." He smile immediatly turned upside down.

"You will, young Private. I lost a few of my friends about a year ago and I miss them like everything,"

"Does that mean you'll watch The Lunacorns with me?" Private's cheery smile returned.

"Ugh, sure... If it makes you that happy, I'll watch this happy hippy fest with you. I mean, it can't be that bad!"

*3 hours later*

Kowalski and Rico climbed down with Skipper and Private's share of lunch, but dropped the fish as they took in the site before them. Private was sound asleep next to Skipper. Skipper, on the other hand, was in a fetal postition, rocking back and forth and mumbling something about manliness and hippy unicorns.

"Skipper?" Kowalski asked. "Are you ok-"

"IT WAS BAD!" Skipper cut Kowalski off, his right eye twitching. "SO FREAKIN' BAD!"

Nigel searched the cold streets of Boston, hopping that Boston was the city he had left his nephew at. He still had yet to remember the city. All he remembered was tall buildings and lots of snow, so that excluded the cities in most southern cities. The doctor said he was rescued in New London, Conneticut, so the city had to be in the north eastern area. It had been a week and a half since he was released from the hospital. The doctors wanted him to take it easy for the next few weeks, but he didn't care. He had to find Private. Though, he had insisted that his flipper and stomach to remain bandaged as he didn't want anyone to see the "R" and "S" shapped scars. If they did, they would know he had failed. Well, he hadn't exactly lost to Red. He was still alive. But with Red still on the loose, maybe not for long. He knew it wouldn't take very long for Red to hear that he was awake and alive.

He was searching the last few streets when he heard a voice comming from an alleyway.

"I can help you, you know," it said. Nigel immediately got into a fighting stance and turned towards the alley. A figure wearing a black cloak covering his identity stood up against the brick wall.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, that's not important. What's important is that I can help you find your nephew,"

"You know Private? That's impossible. The young boy only knew me and his parents,"

"Oh, I never met him. But, I have heard of you and your situation. I also know of an I.P.M. team that gained a new member that goes by the name of Private and is 8 penguin years old,"

"That's him! But what do _you_ want?"

"Why do you automaticly assume that I want something,"

"Everybody wants something,"

"You watch too many James Bond movies, Agent Nigel," the figure chuckled. "But yes, it's true. But this time it's simple. I just want your alliance and patience,"

"Patience? Why patience?"

"You also ask way too many questions. I need your patience because this plan will take a few months to a year. But I can guarentee your nephew will be with you,"

"Why don't you just tell me?"

"There's no fun in that, Nigel. So, is it a deal or will you spend the rest of your life scanning the streets of cities for Private?"

**Ah, yes. The dreaded cliffhanger...**

**Anyone want to take a guess at who the figure is? I just realized that The Capitain is alot like a movie entitled The Guardian, which I just watched yesterday. Except Skipper didn't die and the penguins are penguins. And, yeah! THANKS YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! AND READING! :D **


	5. Swim Lesson

**Sorry for the wait! This chapter is a little bit pointless, but it has Private cuteness. Kinda. It's hard for me to write cute stuff. But I tried my best, so here you go! And no, the figure is not revealed. He won't be for at least 2-3 more chapters MWAHAHA! :)**

*Skipper's POV*

"Skipper's Log: Well, spring is finally here. Private lost a handful of his down feathers already. About time! And since the water is warm enough for swimming, we decided to give the boy his first swimming lesson today. He's still oblivious to what we're doing, but I say as soon as we bring him topside, he'll get the message. I don't think he'll like it, but we're penguins! He has to learn sometime or-"

"Skipper, you ready?" Kowalski interrupted. I hit the stop button and kicked the recorder behind the TV, where hopefully Private won't see.

"Affirmative! Secured the Private?"

"Uh, Rico's got him..." Kowalski gestured towards his lab. I could here "NO! I don't want to swim!" and "Put me down, Rico!" and "Nuh-uh!" through the concrete walls.

"Kowalski?"

"Yes, Skipper?" he asked, innocently.

"I thought we agreed to keep the boy oblivious to today's swimming lesson,"

"Uh... Well you see, ...uh... IT WAS ALL RICO'S FAULT!"

"Nuh-uh!" Rico argued. He ran out of Kowalski's lab, Private struggling to get out of his grasp.

"Yuh-huh!" Kowalski replied, holding his ground, though it was obviously him who told Private.

"Nu-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!"

"Nu-uh! Here,"Rico handed me Private, who relaxed once he was in my flippers. Rico regurgitated a large salmon and charged at Kowalski. The lientenant screamed, running for his life.

I decided to start heading outside. Private still in my grasp, I climbed the ladder using my free flipper and opened the fish bowl entrance, greeted by the warm, friendly sunshine.

"So, who told you we were going to be teaching you to swim?" I asked, setting Private down on the concrete.

"K'walski,"

"Thought so," I said, smirking and locking the hatch.

"Why are you locking the fish bowl?" Private asked.

"I'm going to let Kowalski withstand a few minutes of Rico's wrath for disobeying orders,"

"Oh!" Private chuckled. "So, what are we going to do? Swim?"

"Not yet. Ever had a snow cone before?"

"No. What is a snow cone?"

"You're about to find out!" I replied, slinging Private over my shoulders and starting outside of the zoo.

*15 minutes later*

We returned back to our concrete island, making a point of taking our time. Private had loved his snowcone a little too much, as his grey fluffy feathers had spots dyed of red, blue, green, orange, and purple syrup.

"Private, stand back," I ordered, opening the hatch. Kowalski immediately ran up the ladder and on to island, lying on the concrete, breathing heavily.

"WHY would you do that?!" he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"Well, you disobeyed orders and lied to me," I replied.

"How did you find out?"

"Private,"

"Oh yeah... heheh... I'm sorry, okay? It just slipped out!"

"Don't sweat it. But go get Rico. It's time for Private's swim lesson,"

"Aye, sir" He went back down. Private turned towards me, giving me his saddest face that showed off his big blue eyes.

"Skipper, I don't want to swim. Can we please hold off swimming lessons? Pwease?" His face was so adorable it almost sold me. Almost.

"I'm sorry Private , but you have to learn how to swim. You're a penguin. Penguins have to learn how to swim. That's how we get our fish,"

"B-but doesn't the zoo keeper give us the nummy fish already?"

"Yes, but we might not always have her around when on missions. So we need to swim to catch fish,"

"But I don't wanna!"

"Well, you're gonna! Now, watch me," I dived into our pool, swimming circles around our island. By this time, Kowalski had returned with Rico. Perfecto. I swam to the edge of the island, grabbing on to the concrete.

"Kowalski, Rico: secure all exits. Private, come here. It'll be fine. I'll hold on to you the entire time,"

"No! I don't like the water!"

"Private, please?"

"No!"

"Please?'

"NO! I don't want to swi- HEY!" Rico picked the little fluffball up. And before I could stop him, tossed him into the water.

Private made a small splash, coming into contact with the water. He sank a few feet, but thankfully (and suprisingly) resurfaced, kicking his feet and waving his flippers. Though it wasn't the best tecnique, he was in fact swimming.

"Skipper! Skipper, HELP!" he screamed.

"Private, calm down! You're swimming!"

"I...I am?"

"Yeah! Just keep kicking, and try to move your flippers and swim towards me," He did so, with a few flaws, but it was his first try. What more could you expect? I wrapped my flippers around him.

"Good job! You see? That wasn't so bad!"

"It was fun! But the water's so cold..."

"To you. That's because you still have most of your baby feathers. You'll grow out of those in no time and you'll be swimming without feeling as cold, like us. But for now, let's get you dried off," I carried him out of the pool, wrapping a warm, fluffy towel around him that Rico handed me.

"And before we know it, you'll be all grown up. Going on missions with us and being one of the best penguin commandos out there,"


	6. Christmas

**Gosh, it's been about a month since I last updated. I AM SO SORRY! School has just been crazy the past weeks and issues have been popping up in my social life, so yeah. But I tried my best to make this chapter long and Christmasy as it is Christmas Eve Eve (the day before Christmas Eve). Anyways, I owe this chapter to "In Like a Lion" by the Aviators and "Maybe This Christmas" by Shane Dawson. I appoligize if you don't celebrate Christmas and for my Jewish friends, HAPPY LATE HANUKKAH! :D**

**I don't think this is my best chapter, but I suck at writting Christmas specials. Trust me. I had to write this chapter more than once to make it at least a little good. **

**So enjoy?**

*8 months later*

Time kept moving forward and Private grew closer and closer to the three, older penguins. He quickly grew out of his down feathers and was soon sporting his shiny, new adult feathers. He kept getting better at swimming and was soon swimming almost as fast as Kowalski. His 9th birtthday came and passed, but his new team mates made sure to make it a day he'll always remember. He no longer slept in Skipper's bunk on a regular basis. He was starting to get a little too big for that, though he had only grown an inch or two. But whenever he got scared at night (which was VERY often) Skipper would allow him to sleep in his bunk. Christmas soon came and Private was excited more than ever. Last Christmas wasn't the best. He had spent that Christmas in the hospital with pneumonia. But he remembered the three coming to cheer him up with a few presents and some cake. This year would be better though. It had to.

Every Christmas, Skipper would give the entire team (including himself) a large, juicy, smoked salmon for Christmas. Private knew of this. He was glad, as he loved fish, but he wanted to give Skipper another present, as a way of saying thanks for giving him a home. He had an idea. Rico, being Rico, kept accidently breaking Skipper's coffee mugs. Maybe he could make one that wasn't as breakable?

A few days later, Kowalski was working in his lab when he heard a few tiny, frustrated grumbles. He tried to ignore them, but it was starting to get to the point where he couldn't concentrate. He scanned the room, trying to find the noise's source. Then, he heard a Brittish voice shout.

"Ugh! Why can't you just stay put, you blasted thing!"

"Private?" Kowalski asked. The young penguin's voice was coming from the cabinet in the back of the room. He looked behind it, and sure enough, Private was behind it, pressing a glue-covered strip of metal to a shiny tin can. His seemingly innocent eyes locked with Kowalski.

"Oh, uh, hi Kowalski!" he put the can behind his back.

"Private? What are you dong?"

"Oh, fine!" he laid the can in front of Kowalski. "I'm trying to make a mug for Skipper because Rico keeps breaking his other ones and I wanted to thank him for rescuing me and giving me a home, but this stupid handle won't stay glued to the mug!"

"Private, glue doesn't stick to metal very well. What you need to do is to nail the handle to the mug,"

"But I never used a hammer before,"

"You don't need to. I'll hammer it for you, if you want,"

"Okay!" Private handed him the pieces and got out from behind the cabinet. Kowalski dug through his too box until he found his old hammer and a box of nails. He placed them and the mug on the table and began to work. Private watched curousily as Kowalski began to hammer the nails in. Seemed easy enough. It interested him to the point where he asked, "Kowalski? Can I try?"

"Of course, Private" he lifted Private onto the table. "Now, hold the nail,"

Private grasped the nail with the tip of his flipper. "Like this?"

"Yes. Now, take the hammer and press it to the nail,"

"But won't it hit my flipper?"

"No, just be careful and don't hit the nail to hard and you'll be fine,"

"Okay," Private tapped the nail with the hammer gently, yet firmly. The nail slide further in.

"Good, Private! Now just keep hitting it until it's in all the way,"

"Okay!"

CHRISTMAS MORNING:

Private slowly opened his eyes to be greeted by the cheery lights on their Christmas tree. He smiled brightly, remembering it was finally Christmas. He crawled out of his bunk and put on his Santa hat.

"Come on, guys!" he shouted at the three sleeping penguins. "It's Christmas!"

"Well, merry Christmas to you, too" Skipper replied, yawning as he sat up.

"YAY! PRESENTS!" Rico shouted, charging towards the four wrapped fish. He grabbed one, hugging and kissing it as if it was his girlfriend. "FISH!"

"Rico, slow down. We haven't even had breakfast yet!"

"I DON'T CAAAARE!"

"Well, I guess our presents will just be our breakfast this time," Skipper mumbled. "Kowalski, are you coming?"

"Five more minutes..." Kowalski grumbled sleepily. He was still in his bunk, half asleep.

"Come on. You don't want to disappoint the Private, do you?"

"Pwease, Kowalski?" Private begged.

"Alright..."

After the four penguins finished eating the salmon, Private went inside Kowalski's lab to grab the mug, which had a bright red bow on it. He waddled out of the door, with the mug hidden behind his back.

"Private, what are you hidding?" Skipper asked. Private stepped forward and shoved the mug into Skipper's flippers. Skipper looked at it, speechless. Private saw his reaction and belived that it meant that he hated it.

"I-I'm sorry!" he croaked. His cheery smile turned into a frown. "I just wanted to give you something to thank you for taking me in and giving me a home and I knew that your other mugs kept breaking so easily, so I figured one made out of metal wouldn't break as easy, and I-"

"Private! What are you talking about? I love it!" Skipper interupted, pulling Private into a hug.

"You do?" Private asked. He looked up at Skipper, confusion filling his eyes.

"Why wouldn't I? And you don't have to thank me for taking you in. You being here is a thank you enough,"

"Really?"

"Of course! You're like a son to me Private,"

"I am?"

"Absolutely! I wouldn't trade you or Rico or Kowalski for the world! You guys are like family to me,"

"Awww!" Rico and Kowalski joined the hug.

"Merry Christmas, men" Skipper said.

CONEY ISLAND

Nigel sat alone in the cold bedroom the figure had housed him in. It was Christmas, yet he was alone. The figure had yet to reveal his identity, let alone give Nigel must attention. Everyday, Nigel would barge into his office, demanding answers. The figure would just reply that he would find out soon. But was almost a year since he met the figure. Nigel had just about know one to talk to, as the only family he now had left was Private. He figured he would've found him by now if he hadn't made the stupid deal. Well, it wasn't too bad living there, a secret HQ under Coney Island. He had TV, video game systems, amazing food, and jus about everything he could want. The only thing missing was a friend. He didn't consider the figure a friend. He knew nothing about him, besides the fact that he was starting to creep Nigel out a little. Since he couldn't have a wonderful Christmas, he flipped through his memories until the best Christmas he had came into his mind. Four years ago, when little Private was just five. He spent that Christmas at the Fidelis' small, yet cheery and festive cottage in Canada with Private, his parents, and a friend of the Fidelises, Miss Holly Dawson. She was around Nigel's age and the prettiest penguin Nigel ever saw. After a dance and a conversation or two by the fireplace, they immediately fell in love. Since that wonderful night, they dated for a year, until the next Christmas, Nigel's worst Christmas. He was planning on proposing her that night, right on their one year anniversary. But then, he got the phone call. Holly was hit by a car on her way to Nigel's house.

A few tears rolled down Nigel's cheek. He decided to go outside for awhile to take his mind off of things. Being in Coney Island, he got an amazing view of Manhattan's beautiful lights.

"Oh, Private" Nigel said. "I wish you were here to see this"

Meanwhile...

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Skipper said. He took Private, Rico, and Kowalski to Liberty Island, where they could go to the top of the Statue of Liberty and get a great view of the city lights.

"Oh, yes! I love it here, Skipper!" Private said, propped up on Skipper's shoulder.

"Well, they don't call it the City of Lights for nothing!" Kowalski said, ruffing Private's head.

"Uh-huh!" Rico agreed.

"I just wish..." Private sighed.

"Wish what?" Skipper asked.

"I just wish that Uncle Nigel was here to see this. He would have loved to,"

"We'll find him Private. Don't worry. I can promise that by next Christmas, you'll be with him once again, safe and sound"

**AN: Thank you for reviewing/reading! Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten! Feliz Nadida! 圣诞节快乐****! メリークリスマス****! Gelukkig kerstfeest! God jul! Joyeux Noël! С Рождествомg!**

**And חנוכה שמחה ****! **


	7. Lies

**Hello! Sorry for the long and unexpected hiatus. But here is the newest chapter! AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 50 REVIEWS! :D It means alot! This chapter isn't too long, but this story has seen shorter chapters. **

He listened to the audio of the penguins he had spent a few years recording. He was almost done editing it together. He scanned through it, deleting everything that wasn't Skipper or Private. Then, he listening to Skipper's dialog, cutting out certain words.

"Kowalski, you're not stupid!" He deleted everything but "you're" and"stupid"

"It's not your fault!"

"IT WAS BAD! SO FREAKIN' BAD!"

"What's wrong?"

"You guys go on without me"

"Private, come here"

Next, it was Private's turn.

"Skipper, HELP!"

"I am?"

He edited some more dialog and a few audio clips of Rico beating up Kowalski. He added some volume and a few effects to make Skipper's voice sound more harsh and Private's more scared, thanks to his high-tech sound editing system.

He smiled as he put the clips together, making them make more sense.

"Red One?" he called. Within seconds, his assistant walked in the room.

"Yes, sir?" he asked.

"Get Nigel. It's time"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIII

Nigel heard a knock on his door.

"Come in" he mumbled and went back to the book he was reading.

" ?"

"Yes?"

"The boss needs you to see him. Follow me,"

Nigel sighed and put his book down. _Maybe I'll finally get some answers this time_, he thought.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIII

The first thing Nigel noticed about the room was that there were screens figure sat by a computer, typing quickly on the keyboard.

"Sir?" Nigel asked. "You wanted to see me?" Nigel still had yet to know the figure's name or what he looked like.

"Yes! And I have wonderful news! You get to see where your son is" the figure replied.

"I-I do?" Nigel's face lit up.

"Yup! Why don't you take a look"

The figure clicked something and on the screen appeared three penguins: one muscular, average height, and flat-headed , another tall and slender, and the last one had a scar and feathers sticking up on his head to form a mohawk.

"These are the pen-goo-, I mean penguins who are currently housing your son,"

"Oh, thank God he's safe!"

"And this is what Private currently looks like"

Another image flashed on the screen. Nigel couldn't help but smile as he gazed at the picture of his nephew, who was starting to look full grown with his new adult feathers.

"Now, I managed to slip a radio in there home. So, let's tune in and see what's going on right now," the figured lied and clicked a new file. Skipper's yelling blasted through the speakers.

"PRIVATE! It's ALL YOUR FAULT! What's wrong with you?! WHY are you so freakin' stupid?!"

"I am?" Private nervuosly asked.

"YES!"

Nigel heard sounds of someone getting hit hard. Most likely his nephew.

"No!" Private screamed. "HELP!"

The figure turned the speakers off. He glanced over at Nigel, who's beak was wide open.

"Private..." he mumbled.

"Well, I guess young Private isn't as safe as we thought"

"He's in the hands of child abusers?!" Nigel asked.

"I'm afraid so. But don't worry. Tomarrow, I'll take you to where they are staying and soon, you can take him away from those sick penguins"

"Th-thank you, sir" Nigel mumbled and walked back to his room.

CENTRAL PARK ZOO

Skipper couldn't sleep. Something was going to happen. He could feel it. Not knowing what else to do, he just stared blankly at the top of his bunk and listened to the rain and thunder rolling in the distance.

"Skipper?"

Skipper turned his head to see Private, standing by next to his bunk and clutching a pillow.

"Skipper, I-I can't sleep"

"Nethier can I" Skipper admitted. He moved over so Private would have some room. "Come on," he said and patted the vacant space.

"Thank you!" Private smiled and crawled in, snuggling up to Skipper.

Skipper frowned. He got that feeling again that something bad was going to happen.

"Private?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Whatever happens, just remember that you'll always be like a son to me. You and the guys are pretty much the only family I have left,"

"And you'll always be like a father to me, Skipper. And Kowalski and Rico, well, they're like uncles to be. Though no one can replace my parents and Uncle Nigel," Private let out a sigh. "I still miss him. Do you think he's alive, Skipper?

"I do, young Private. In fact, tomarrow, why not try to find him after training?"

"You mean it?"

"Definately. There's got to be somebody who has seen him since he went missing,"

"Yay!" Private cheered. He yawned and closed his eyes. "Good night, Skipper"

"Good night, Private"

Skipper wrapper a flipper around the sleeping penguin and smiled. Whatever was going to happen, it didn't matter now. They were safe and together. And at the moment, that's all Skipper needed to be happy. He pulled his blanket on top of Private and slowly drifted off to sleep.

**A/N: Thank you for reading! I'll try to get chapter 7 up next week! Some of you may be able to guess who this "figure" is. First one who guess it correctly gets a shout out! Next few chapters might get a little sad. **


	8. Reunited

"Punch... kick... punch... bob and weave... weave and bob... and punch!" Skipper lead the team in their flipper to flipper combat training.

"Great job, men!" Skipper praised. The three penguins smiled at him as the stood and waited for their next orders.

"You know what? Why not skip the rest of training today and go grab some snow cones!"

"YAY!" Private cheered.

"And then, of course, we'll go hunt your uncle down"

"YAY AGAIN!"

"Let's move out!"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

*20 minutes later*

Private smiled on top of Skipper's shoulders. _Today's going so amazing! _He thought. _At this rate, we're bound to find Uncle-_

Something caught Private's eye. Private glanced down and noticed that Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico were seeing it, too. It was a penguin. And it was now occupying their habitat.

"Intruder!" Skipper yelled. He put Private down and ran towards their habitat.

"WAIT!" Private screamed, causing Skipper to stop dead in his tracks. "That's not an intruder," he continued as he got a better look at the penguin, who was a tall bird with his head feathers turning a little grey.

"That's... Nigel?" Private's smile widen and he sprinted towards the HQ. "UNCLE NIGEL!"

"Private!" Nigel turned around and scooped his nephew up in is flippers. "Private! I thought I would never see you again!"

"I didn't think I would see you again, ethier!" Private said as he wrapped his own flippers around his lost uncle's neck.

"My, look how big you've gotten. And I see you lost all of your your down feathers!"

By this time, the others had caught up.

"So, your the famous Uncle Nigel that Private has been talking non-stop about since we found him?" Skipper said and gave their visitor a warm smile.

"Yes. And I can see why," Nigel grumbled and returned Skipper's smile with a glare.

"Uh, is there anything wrong?"

"Oh it's nothing. Just the fact that you physically abused MY nephew!"

"WHAT?! We would never-"

"Oh, save it! A nice, yet mysterious person has given me enough evidence to know what you guys did to him! I'm suprised my Private isn't covered in bruises and cuts!" Nigel interrupted Skipper.

"Sir, I can assure you that we would never do such a thing!" Kowalski tried.

"Yeah! Rico agreed.

"Just ask Private," Skipper offered.

"LEAVE MY NEPHEW OUT OF THIS! You probably threatend him to lie so that you could torture him more! JUST STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"

"But, Uncle-" Private tried to say, only to be cut off.

"Come on, Private!" and with that said, Nigel took Private and left. Private turned around for a second and gave his friends a sad wave.

"Goodbye," he whispered, tearing up.

Skipper stayed there, watching Private and his uncle until they were out of sight. He let out a sigh, a few tears in his eyes as well. He looked back at his team. They had similar reactions. Skipper knew, no matter what the circumstances, he had to give them the let's-move-on speech"

"Team, though Private is gone, we must carry on. He will be missed, but sadly, we cannot control his uncle. So, we'll finish the rest of our training today, and if I see some improvments, we'll have movie night a few nights early," Skipper said, holding back some tears.

"Aye, Skipper" Kowalski and Rico said in half-hearted unison.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

CONEY ISLAND

"Where are we?" Private asked as Nigel showed him his apartment in the figure's HQ. The spacious, cold, dark appartment looked a bit unfriendly for Private's cheery Uncle Nigel.

"It's just my apartment, lended to me by the kind man who helped reunite us. But tomarrow, we'll move out and go live at my place in Canada,"

"Uncle Nigel?"

"Yes, my boy?"

"It's about the three penguins who found me. They never hurt me, Uncle. They saved me," Private explained.

"Private, you don't have to lie to me anymore. Those penguins won't hurt you if you just tell me the truth. I'll make sure of that," Nigel picked up Private and ruffled his feathers.

"But I am telling the truth! And they never hurt me to begin with!"

"Private, trust me. I have seen enough to know what they REALLY did to you. The guy who owns this place recorded what had and you were screaming," happened and let me hear. And your voice was there. And you were being beaten by that flat-headed monster of a penguin

"Skipper never beat me!"

"Seriously, Private! Just stop this! He did and I know so! Please!"

"Sorry, Uncle" Private mumbled. "But what will happen to Skipper and the others?"

"Don't worry about those abusers, Private. We'll alert the authorities before we leave tomarrow. Now, how about we watch a movie or something? I think they have a good few shows on tonight," Nigel sat down on the bed and grabbed the TV remote.

"You mean, they'll got to jail?!"

"Of course! That's where they belong!"

"NO IT'S NOT!" Private screamed. He jumped on the bed and buried his face into a pillow.

"Private? Are okay?"

"Th-they're like brothers to me, Uncle Nigel! I don't know what you've been told, but whatever it is, it has got to be fake! Skipper would never do ANYTHING like that to me! He's a kind penguin. Firm sometimes, but he reminds me of my father so much and Rico and Kowalski are the older brothers I never had. And they can't go to jail! They didn't do anything wrong! All they did was treat me as if I was their own! I'm sure that you can't get arrested for that!"

Private looked up at his uncle. Nigel stared straight back into the boy's desperate, blue eyes and immediately knew he was telling the truth.

"You're right, Private" he said, rubbing Private's back.

"Y-you belive me?"

"I do. I'm sorry I doubted you it's just... I've waited over a year to find you and I don't want to lose you again," Nigel scooped Private into a hug. "And to be honest, something strange IS going on around here. But I can't put my flipper on it..."

At that moment, thunder pierced through their ears and the lights went out.

"Uncle?!" Private asked, clutching Nigel harder.

"It must be a power outage or something, Private. Don't worry. I'm sure it'll be fixed in no time,"

But something caught their eye. A small, glowing red light. It reminded Private of someone that Skipper had told him about in one of his famous mission stories. _What was his name again?_ Private thought, but his thoughts faded as he grew more scared when the the light grew closer to him and his uncle.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

CENTRAL PARK ZOO

*Skipper's POV*

I laid quietly in my bunk. I couldn't sleep again. Though this time it was different. Private wasn't here and he probaby was never coming back. Nigel probably would call the IPM's police department and get us all arrested for a crime we never commited. I was suprised Kowalski never pointed this out. But maybe he did realize this and decided to keep his mouth shut so that we could enjoy our freedom. I was doing the same. Though we could've ran away from here, so we couldn't get caught. But I knew that if we stood against the entire IPM, we would get creamed in 10 seconds flat.

Thunder echoed loudy through the HQ. I let out a sigh.. If Private was here, he would be snuggled up against me right about now. The boy hated thunderstorms. I couldn't blame him. I used to, too, when I was his age. But I grew out of it eventually. Now, thunder sounds like the begining of a new, adventerous tale, waiting to be discovered. But tonight, it was just a bothersome reminder of what was ripped away from my bare flippers. Private was like a son to me. I never had a son and I probably never will, but Private was the closest I've ever got to having one. But I had to move on, anyways. Like my own parents used to say, "Everything happens for a reason" Maybe this was for the best. I couldn't see why, but there has got to be a reason for this somehow...

**A/N: And the shout-out goes to JET ENGINE! Every go now and tell her that she's awesome! And to everyone who guessed it was correct as well! So, YAAAAY! :D AND THANKS FOR REVIEWING! :D**


	9. The Plan

CONEY ISLAND

"Now!" A familiar voice echoed threw the dark room. Before Nigel and Private could do anything, sharp claws tore the two away from each other.

"Ow!" Private shrieked, as he struggled to free himself. He felt chains wrap tightly around his body and the lobsters.

"Private!" Nigel tried to grab Private back, but chains also restrained him before he could even touch the boy.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Nigel shouted. At that moment, the lights came back on. A tall dolphin on a segway smiled evily at the pair.

"Dr. Blowhole?! You're the stranger who helped me find Private?" Nigel immediately reconized the villian he had heard alot about, but had never met.

"Yup!"

"Hey!" Private said. "Skipper told me about you. He said that you killed Manfredi and Johnson and tried to kill him multiple times,"

"Good memory, kid. And I will try again. But this time, I'm sure to succeed!"

"Care to explain?" Nigel asked. "And why did you reunite me with Private?"

"Lobsters! Take the boy outside!" Blowhole ordered. "He shouldn't hear this,"

The lobstsers surrounding Private grabbed him and took him into the hall way.

"Well, you see, Skipper and I are archenemies. And yes, he does indeed work for the IPM. I constantly try throwing revenge at those cursed, much-deserving humans, and every single time he just has to ruin it. So I figured, the only way to get my revenge is to get rid of Skipper and his team of pen-gu-ins. Now I got rid of his old team, but then he got a new one. Thankfully, they aren't as trained as Manfredi and Johnson were. I always closely monitor the pen-gu-ins to learn about their weaknesses, and to see if they're going to plan a suprise attack on me and my allies. So, when I learned that they had taken in an abandoned, sick, and down-feathered pen-gu-in who had been lost on the streets waiting for his Uncle Nigel.I knew what I had to do. Knowing Skipper, I knew he would bond with the little bird and treat him as if he was his own son. And can you imagine how heart-broken he would feel if he had his 'son' ripped from his bare flippers, then find out he was killed by his own uncle-

"WHAT?! I would never kill Private!" Nigel interrupted.

"Oh, I know. Now let me finish!" Blowhole barked back. "Skipper would definately weaken. And you and I both know that it's alot easier to destroy someone the weaker they are. So I tracked you down by hacking into the IPM's records and sure enough, Agent Nigel had reported that his nephew, Private was missing. It was all too easy. Now, don't worry too much about the boy. Yes, he will die, but in the least painful way possible. I'm not _that _sick of a monster. And we'll do the same with you, IF you answer our questions. If not, then we'll just torture you until you die. Your choice, not mine. And after we're through, we'll send Skipper a letter telling him that you killed Private and that you were caught by the IPM and gunned down. And of course, we'll put the IPM's seal on it to make it look legit. Any questions?"

"What about the audio file you played to make me belive Skipper abused my nephew?

"Oh. I got them from these clips," Blowhole pressed a button on his segway and a screen popped up. Guilty overcame Nigel as he watched Skipper treating Private and his team mates all like family members. He even taught Private how to swim.

"I guess your worry of Private made you more gullible, huh Nigel?" Blowhole asked, letting out an evil laugh. "Lobsters! Take the boy and the agent to the lab!"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

CENTRAL PARK ZOO

"Skipper?" Kowalski asked, shaking his leader's shoulder slightly. "Sir?"

Skipper opened his heavy eyelids and saw Kowalski standing next to him, looking worried. "What's the matter, Kowalski?" he asked.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I am! What makes you say that?"

"It's just that it's 11:30 in the morning and we usually get up at six,"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a little trouble sleeping last night. But that doesn't excuse today's training, so let's move it and we might just finish in time for lunch! Is Rico up?"

"Yes. He's finishing up his 50 laps in our pool. We already did our morning training, sir. You just seemed so tired and peaceful, so we decided not to wake you, but we knew you would've wanted us to train anyways, so we did,"

"Well, that was smart thinking. But you should've woken me up. You know I can live on a few hours of sleep, Kowalski. So I guess it's just me who needs to train. Tell Rico that you and him can do whatever you wish to do today. Just report back to base by sixteen hundred hours,"

"Thank you, sir!" Kowalski said with a salute and left. Skipper grabbed a cup of coffee, knowing it was going to be a long day and sat at the table and watcged the steam rise from the tin mug. Private's mug. Skipper could still remember the joy on that boy's face that Christmas morning. Skipper swore that day that you could use Private's smile to light up all of New York City.

Skipper slapped himself. _No!_ he told himself. _It's time to move on. I need to forget about him, now._ He chugged down the rest of his coffee and went topside to begin his training.

*some time later*

Skipper's calf muscles burned as he sprited through his fourth and final lap around the zoo. This was his last training exercise. The rest had gone better than usual, so Skipper was trying his hardest to get a better time on his four laps. Something caught his eye as he ran past the zoo's entrance: a snow cone machine. The zoo normaly didn't sell snowcones, just popcorn, pretzels, and hotdogs. _Guess someone decided to give the zoo a little extra, yet well-deserved money_, Skipper thought. _And now we don't have to go out to the park to get one, like that time Private first had one-_

Memories flooded back.

"Not yet. Ever had a snow cone before?" "No. What is a snow cone?" "You're about to find out!"

"Skipper, I don't want to swim. Can we pwease hold off swimming lessons?"

"Private, calm down! You're swimming!" "I...I am?"

"And before we know it, you'll be all grown up. Going on missions with us and being one of the best penguin commandos out the-"

SMACK!

Skipper ran face-first into a brick wall. "Oww..." he mumbled as he stood up, rubbing his forehead. "Stupid wall and stupid memories,"

He waddled back to the HQ, deciding that he'll beat his record tomarrow. He glanced at his reflection in their pool and noted his fresh black-eye before sighing.

"Oh, who am I kidding?" he said to no one in particular. "I can't forget about Private. Private's Private. But he is gone, now. Probably forever, but he'll be happier with his uncle. Military life probably isn't the best for him, anyways. Though he does have the spirit for it, but I don't know. I mean, did I technically force him to be in our team? But he did enjoy it. Or maybe he was afraid I would be mad if he wasn't. I don't even know what to think, I just-"

Something wasn't right.

A strange feeling suddenly overcame Skipper. Something terrible was going on right now. And he knew it.

**A/N: Thank you guys for reviewing! I'm honestly shocked I have over 60 reviews already! SO THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! :D  
The main focus of the next chapters has now been revealed. Stupid Blowhole... You can't kill Private! That's just crossing the line! :U**


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